NIMRA ‘The Mountain Runner’ Newssheet June 2024

Welcome to our sixth (and slightly delayed) edition of the monthly NIMRA newsletter ‘The Mountain Runner’, and we are pleased to show off the June 2024 edition updating you with any news or highlights from the previous month and what is coming up for the month ahead. Members can use this as a focus point to stay updated with all the goings on, and we appreciate if anyone would like to make any contributions throughout the year, please get in touch and we’ll do our best to include in the latest bulletin. Thank you to the growing number of people who have been contributing thus far!

HIGHLIGHTS

Cairncastle Classic Fell Race (Sat 1st June)

June 1 was a glorious sunny day in Cairncastle.  83 runners undertook the gruelling, slow climb to the plateau of Knockdhu before speeding up along the narrow trails between numerous stiles with splendid views for miles around over the Glens and the sea. All were rewarded with a wonderful spread; food and drinks galore at the finish, cheerful encouraging marshals and family supporters and a nice cool dip in Ballygally beach to finish. The race was very well run and marshalled, and prizes promptly presented at the finish line.

Timmy Johnston (Annadale Striders) was the wnner Cairncastle Classic Fell Race. The talented all-round athlete (pictured centre) secured his third win over the mountain course, having previously won the event in 2019 and 2021. In the early stages it was Larne native Ryan Stewart (right) who led the field onto Knockdhu and across to Linford Car Park, before finishing the ten mile route in 2nd place. Newcastle AC’s talented young athlete, Ashley Crutchley (left), took 3rd place in what was a scorching race in extremely hot conditions.

Flagstaff to Carlingford (Sun 16th June)

78 competitors were transported to the start by bus and some cars and no-one was without a seat!  Good weather and visibility was a minor spoiler for the good navigators poised with their bearings to take advantage.  Three racers took advantage of the early start option offered, 1 hour prior to the main event.  This gave them a bird’s eye view on good route options chosen by the front runners.  Again, a very enjoyable and well-run event from Armagh AC. Full report can be found on their website here

Mullaghcarn Giant Race (Sat 29th June)

It was sunshine over the Sperrins as Carmen Runners hosted their inaugural Mullaghcarn Giant Race in the Gortin Glen Forest Park on Saturday June 29th for race 10 of the NIMRA championship and race 3 of the IMRA Ulster Championship. 128 runners arrived via twisty Tyrone roads for the gun time of 12pm, whereafter they took some even twister turns up to the Ladies View. From here it was running along the scenic drive and then up up and up to the top of Mullaghcarn mountain to bow / dip before our big friendly giant Darach

The craic then commenced with a run down, up and back down the muddy bog trail – affectionately named “Da Boggy Bog” on Strava. A left turn then took our trailblazers towards the forest, with a short run through the trees bringing them back onto path at Glengawna. From here the mountaineers made their way back to the Ladies View and reversed their original ascent into a sharp descent back towards the finish line near where they started, and where tea and sandwiches awaited.

King of the Mountain in 1st place was man in black Timothy Johnston of Annadale Striders, followed closely in 2nd place by the most colourful man on the course Ryan Stewart. Meanwhile, First Lady of the View and 1st female finisher was Karen Wilton of Jog Lisburn, with veteran mountain runner Esther Dickson of Newry AC in 2nd place. Bronze god and goddess, respectively, with 3rd place finishes were Ashley Crutchley of Newcastle AC and Nadine McIntyre of Enniskillen Running Club in her first ever mountain race.

*Hill & Dale Series (Races 8, 9 & 10) (by Rory Morrow)

Loughshanagh

Into June we went, with the 2024 Hill and Dales Doomsday Clock ticking ever nearer the end. Before that, though, we had everyone’s favourite race to conveniently miss; Loughshanagh. With four hefty climbs, those more strategically inclined could kick back, relax and fret not over needing to scale Ott and company to ensure they met the six-race threshold to merit this year’s (remarkably well received) spot prize. Joshua McAtee (Mourne Runners) was first home in 43:14, nineteen seconds clear of Ashley Crutchley (Newcastle AC) with the latter’s fellow clubman, David Hicks, rounding off the men’s podium..Only four places split the women’s top three as Esther Dickson (Newry AC) claimed the win in 50:59. Martjse Hell (North Belfast Harriers) and Diane Wilson (Dromore AC) completed a by-now familiar-looking platform. 

Meels 

Arguably up there for the worst weather conditions of the series, eagle-eyed Strava examiners may have observed slightly later warmup starts as most huddled in their cars beforehand, questioning their sanity. On a wickedly wet night, super organisation from the Race Directors and all volunteering ensured a safe evening’s running. Mandatory kit was rightly enforced as the usual ferocity of race’s kicked in. 

McAtee, again, led the way but a bad fall saw the same men’s trio comprise the top three, in a different order. Crutchley capitalised to finish first in 37:10, closely followed by Hicks and McAtee, who recovered well to claim the bronze. On the women’s side, Dickson made it successive weeks at the top with Wilson nosing out Tanya Cumming (Newcastle AC) by a single second in a spine-tingling sprint finale, all three securing top thirty placings. 

Drinahilly 

Friday night at Donard Park saw the series conclude as 260 runners turned up for a short (relatively!) charge at Drinahilly. Despite the drizzle, high spirits abounded as runners (well, most) gleefully grasped their freshly laundered Hill and Dale kit bag (complete with hat), many expressing relieved utterings to have a worthwhile reward for their efforts.

As for the race itself, Tom Crudgington returned with a win in 21:54, securing himself his second series title. Crutchley, meanwhile, fended off the fiesty efforts of young, Ethan McMullan (Newcastle AC) to confirm the men’s medal positions. Newcastle’s podium presence continued as Aine Gosling’s 27:44 clinched the women’s winning time. Hot on her heels came second-placed Hell whilst an epic-three-way tussle for third saw Cumming fend off Catriona Edington (Annadale Striders) and Rachel Quinn (Crossfit), only seven seconds separating them. 

And so, to O’Hares Bar where tales of woe were exchanged, age category results tensely awaited and awards dispensed. Thanks to all the directors and volunteers over the past ten weeks for all their work in making the Hill and Dales series happen, both safely and competitively. We’ll leave you rueing whichever so-and-so beat you, but, as ever, there’s always next year to put yourself through all this agnst again. Until then, happy Hill racing and stay safe. 

*IMRA Races May 2024

The Summer leagues are now well off in both Leinster and the West with plenty of mid-week and weekend racing on. Flagstaff & Mullaghcarn both doubled into the Ulster Championship, leaving Carnaween & The Two Towers to complete this. Race 3 of the Leinster Champs was at Stranhely Woods in Wicklow on Sun 9th June, with Newcastle ACs Robbie Bryson and Pearse Brogan taking 7th & 11th place in this respectively. Newcastle were also represented by the McMullan father & son team (Marty & Ethan) at the Connacht double weekend of Mweelrea & Nephin at the very end of June. Mweelrea was race 2 of the Irish Championship, while both combine between an overnight stay for the Connacht Championship. Ethan took 3rd place overall in the Connacht championship!

NEWS

*NIMRA Championship 2024

The tables are now up to date as far as Mullaghcarn and can be viewed here. That’s 10 races done with only 4 remaining, so tables will change in the business end of the season! It has been noted of the congestion we experienced in May between races and Hill & Dales, the committee will be reviewing this at the end of the season. Currently entries are now open for the next three champ races, Spelga Skyline, Seven Sevens and Scrabo so please click our online entries section here to enter.

*Ulster Championship 2024 (w/IMRA)

Together NIMRA & IMRA are staging a provincial Ulster Championship for this season. This will be a 5 race series (with 3 races to qualify) spread across the province and primarily away from the Mournes bar The Two Towers. The current league standings are on the IMRA website. All the races (except Carnaween) are also in the NIMRA championship so the overlapping allows you to compete in both. However you must be a paid up member of IMRA separately to qualify. The remaining Ulster Championship races are below:

Sat 6th July: Carnaween (Donegal)

Sat 24th August: The Two Towers (Down)

*International Selection Criteria 2024

Saturday 20th July: 47th International Snowdon Race (Llanberis, Wales)

Congrats and good luck to the NIMRA teams taking on the Snowdon Race this July!

· DATE: Saturday 20th July.

· VENUE: Llanberis. Gwynedd. Wales

· TEAMS: 4 senior men and 4 senior women + 1 coach

Mens Team

Tom Crudgington – Newcastle AC

Ashley Crutchley – Newcastle AC

Keith Johnston – Armagh AC

Joshua McAtee – Mourne Runners

Reserve: Jack Proctor – BARF

Female Team

Diane Wilson – Dromore AC

Tanya Cumming – Newcastle AC

Catriona Edington – Annadale Striders

Naomi McCurry – Glen Runners

Reserve: Sinead-Marie McAllister – Larne AC

Team Manager: Conan Brown

· 10 miles ascent/descent · WEBSITE: http://www.snowdonrace.co.uk/

*17TH INTERNATIONAL U18 MOUNTAIN RUNNING CUP – 21/22 JUNE 2024 MONTAÑA PALENTINA (SPAIN)

Eight athletes, three on their first International competition, headed off on Thursday to Palentina Spain for the above competition, the first time for it to be hosted by Spain in its 17yr history. While the weather was OK by home standards, rain on race day is not quite how you plan for racing in Spain during June – so much for the last 3 weeks heat training and our new Ice Vests – they were left to melt in the team tent while the athletes raced.

The N.I.& Ulster Team may not have won any medals, but there were solid runs from every member of the team, having good battles throughout the race with their International competitors. Team managers, Nikki Graham and Phil Hodge were very proud of how they raced and conducted themselves throughout the trip – a credit to their families and clubs! Full report from Olivia Morgan is here

*Denis Rankin Round June 2024

Well done to all the below who completed on the DRR during the month of June. A big well done also to the trio of Andreas Kusch, Rory Campbell and Pól O’Murchu who completed Cassies Challenge on 23rd June in 26hrs 24mins

Andy Quicke (9th June) 18hrs 16mins

Cathal McParland & Wayne McGuigan (9th June) 23hrs 1min

Alistair Cox & Tom Lynch (16th June) 18hrs 51mins

Niall Gibney (Anti Clockwise) (22nd June) 17hrs 46mins

Ciaran McAleenan (Anti Clockwise) (29th June) 21hrs 45mins (Ciaran then went for the double round after this and proceeded clockwise but retired after leg 2 at the Deers Meadow)

*Ticks & Buzzards!

Two very different hazards you would come across in the mountains are making names for themselves in the last while. With a moderate increase in temperature, ticks will be prevalent in long grass, heather and ferns between April & September. After a hike or run please check around exposed parts of your arms and legs for any signs and follow advice on how to safely remove a tick here. Contact your GP or health professional should you experience itching and a raised bullseye type rash after a few days.

Clearly the buzzard nesting season is still ongoing and while they generally nest away from beaten ground and human activity, if we enter their territory they will defend it, so please give them a wide berth and if you do find yourself at the wrath of one, head back the way you came as safely as you can and it will back off. Two in particular in the Mournes have been active in patrolling their nest areas, one located around the open ground between Slieve Loughshannagh & Meelbeg down towards Fofanny Dam and the other in Donard Forest on the hilly approach path towards Drinnaveer quarry and Millstone. The latter caused injury to Steven Morgan from BARF (below) who encountered one on a run a few weeks back, whilst the Fofanny buzzard has been keen to chase multiple runners away from reccing the Spelga Skyline route. This race has now been diverted away from this side of Slieve Loughshannagh to avoid any runners coming to harm.

*Upcoming fixtures

July 2024 (IMRA)

Wed Jul 3	7:30 PM	Warrenscourt Forest (Kilmurry)	MSL	Cork	IMRA Race	150m	6.40km
Wed Jul 3	7:30 PM	Ballinastoe	LL	Wicklow	IMRA Race	504m	11.00km
Sat Jul 6	11:00 AM	Carnaween	TWL, ULC	Donegal	IMRA Race	514m	7.80km
Sat Jul 6	12:00 PM	Croghan Half	LHM	Wicklow	IMRA Race	850m	21.00km
Sun Jul 7	11:00 AM	Curragh Woods	MSL	Cork	IMRA Race	240m	8.00km
Wed Jul 10	7:30 PM	Carrick Mountain	LL	Wicklow	IMRA Race	421m	7.50km
Fri Jul 12	8:00 PM	Reeks Vertical 800		Kerry	IMRA Race	800m	3.00km
Sat Jul 13	9:00 AM	SKYLINE (NO ENTRY without prior approval)		Kerry	IMRA Race	2400m	24.00km
Sun Jul 14	11:00 AM	3 Lakes Of The Glen		Kerry	IMRA Race	600m	9.60km
Sun Jul 14	12:00 PM	Cronins Yard Trail		Kerry	IMRA Race	200m	6.00km
Sun Jul 14	1:00 PM	Carrauntoohill Mountain Race	AIC, MC	Kerry	IMRA Race	1600m	17.00km
Wed Jul 17	7:30 PM	Seahan	LL	Dublin	IMRA Race	510m	9.80km
Sat Jul 20	7:00 AM	Glendalough Tucker Trail	IUC	Wicklow	IMRA Race	3000m	80.00km
Sat Jul 20	8:45 AM	Glendalough Clover (Relay)		Wicklow	IMRA Relay	2400m	70.00km
Sat Jul 20	11:00 AM	Slieve Bawn	TWL	Roscommon	IMRA Race	270m	8.10km
Sun Jul 21	11:00 AM	Craig Woods	MSL	Tipperary	IMRA Race	270m	9.50km
Wed Jul 24	7:30 PM	Glen of the Downs	TL	Wicklow	IMRA Race	292m	8.15km
Wed Jul 24	7:30 PM	Eyeries Coastguard Station Loop	MSL	Cork	IMRA Race	200m	8.00km
Sat Jul 27	10:00 AM	Mt Gable	TWL	Galway	IMRA Race	418m	9.22km
Sat Jul 27	1:00 PM	Log na Coille	AIC	Wicklow	IMRA Race	718m	10.46km
Sun Jul 28	12:00 PM	Lisvernane/Aherlow	MSL	Tipperary	IMRA Race	313m	11.50km
Wed Jul 31	7:30 PM	Church Mountain	LL	Wicklow	IMRA Race	545m	9.55km

July 2024 (NIMRA)

Sat July 6th	11:00 AM	Carnaween		Donegal	IMRA Race	514m	7.8km
Sat July 20th	11:00 AM	Spelga Skyline		Down	NIMRA Race	1550m	21km [L]

*On this month (Archives)

Rostrevor Relay 1997

This was a 4 section relay, held early in the season.  The road sections were to encourage clubs with a mixture of road and hill runners to compete.

Route Rostrevor to Newcastle, mixture of 2 road sections & 2 hill ones.

We organised this for a number of years.

Note the clubs from Scotland coming across specially to compete.  And how many athletes listed are still competing.

Pos	Team	Elapsed 1	Elapsed 2	Elapsed 3	Elapsed 4	Time
1	Newcastle AC	Charlie McAlinden 00:20:24	Deon McNeilly 00:47:27	Paul Rogers 00:24:35	D McGonigle 01:06:32	02:38:58
2	Ballydrain Harriers A	David McNeilly 00:20:25	Brian Ervine 00:46:27	Dean Fisher 00:25:17	Jim Hayes 01:21:49	02:53:58
3	Carnethy A	Karen Powell 00:20:25	Jamie Thin 00:57:28	Mark Johnston 00:25:12	Adam Ward 01:16:41	03:00:31
4	Albertville Harriers A	D Allen 00:18:59	Jim Patterson 01:04:41	Ron Schaefer 00:30:38	Billy McKay 01:19:10	03:13:28
5	BARF Speedsters	Jim Brown 00:19:38	Ian  Gourley 01:05:25	Colin Nichol 00:27:14	Vincent McAlinden 01:26:03	03:18:20
6	Westerlands A	John Donnelly 00:20:13	Sandy Bennet 00:57:07	Archie Cameron 00:27:29	Chris Speight 01:34:31	03:19:20
7	BARF C	Ian McMurray 00:21:45	Adrian Shroud 01:17:14	Gary Rice 00:29:43	Richard Connell 01:49:11	03:57:53
8	BARF Ladies A	Niamh McCullogh 00:24:28	Sheena Carson 01:23:13	Helen McKeeman 00:35:44	Joanne Thin 01:37:33	04:00:58
9	Westerlands Ladies	Lynne Wharam 00:25:41	Jane Robertson 01:19:28	Pat McLaughlin 00:33:39	Elspeth Scott 01:52:19	04:10:37
10	Albertville Harriers B	Simon Taylor 00:25:25	Ian Taylor 01:25:59	Greg Clarke 00:37:00	Greg Clarke! 01:43:20	04:11:44
11	BARF Slow	Patrick Lemoine 00:24:13	Mark Pruzina 01:20:42	Terry McQueen 00:33:09	Trevor Wilson 01:57:51	04:15:55
12	Westerlands Mixed	Manuel Gorman 00:20:45	Lesly Gorman 01:58:23	Moira Wall 00:31:17	John Donnolly 01:30:43	04:21:08
13	Westies B	Matt Ogston 00:20:22	Drew Turnbull 01:58:48	Pete Baxter 00:39:50	Brian Bonnyman 01:30:47	04:29:47
14	BARF Ladies B	Jeanette McCluggan 00:28:13	Pauline O’Hara 01:35:48	Alison McQueen 00:40:56	Siobhan Porter 01:53:00	04:37:57

*Mountain Of The Month

Name: Meelbeg

Height: 702m

Location: Mourne Mountains, Co.Down

Info: Nestled between its lower but bulkier brother Meelmore and Slieve Loughshannagh, Meelbeg overlooks the large plain surrounding Doan & Ben Crom as well as Loughshannagh lake. The mountain is traversed at it’s summit by the Mourne Wall, a sharp but short pull up either side along it. It also has a fantastic long ridge overlooking Fofanny Dam and looking north past Hilltown, you have an extensive view of most of Ulster if conditions in your favour.

Race you will visit?: Meels Hill & Dale, Spelga Skyline, Seven Sevens